Industry Responds to Pink Slime Outcry

The company that uses pink slime, Beef Products Inc., will suspend operations at three of its four plants.

When we first told you guys about so-called pink slime, the name for beef trimmings that are sprayed with ammonia so they are safe to eat and added to ground beef as a cheaper filler, many of you commented that it made you think twice before eating a burger. Turns out, you weren't the only ones.

The outcry over pink slime has been pretty substantial on social media, and many have signed petitions and started campaigns to get it off of school menus and out of grocery stores. Recently just announced, the company that uses pink slime, Beef Products Inc., will suspend operations at its plants in Amarillo, Texas; Garden City, Kan.; and Waterloo, Iowa. The company's plant at its Dakota Dunes, S.D., headquarters will continue operations. The maker says that the pink slime is safe and 100 percent beef.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to allow school districts to stop using pink slime and some retail chains have voluntarily pulled products containing it from their shelves. Fast-food chains McDonald's, Burger King, and Taco Bell have also stopped using ground beef with pink slime in it.

Have you made a point to avoid pink slime? Has your grocery store removed it from its shelves? Tell us about it!

Jennipher Walters is the CEO and co-founder of the healthy living websites FitBottomedGirls.com and FitBottomedMamas.com. A certified personal trainer, lifestyle and weight management coach and group exercise instructor, she also holds an MA in health journalism and regularly writes about all things fitness and wellness for various online publications.